Christmas travel

Reduced rail services will operate over the Christmas period. If you are travelling to or from Gatwick during this time, we advise you to plan your journey in advance and allow plenty of extra time to get to the airport.

Victoria station is closed from Sunday 23 December to Tuesday 1 January. No Gatwick Express or Southern services to and from London Victoria will operate during this period.

Trains to and from Gatwick will operate from London Bridge and Blackfriars stations.

No trains will run to or from Gatwick on Christmas Day. This is the same for all train services nationally.

No London Underground services will run on Christmas Day.

On Boxing Day, there will be a limited rail service between London Bridge, Gatwick and Brighton

Trains to and from Gatwick will stop running earlier than normal on Christmas Eve.

Buses will replace Great Western Railway services between North Camp and Gatwick Airport from Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 December.

Normal rail services will resume on Wednesday 2 January.

Local bus and national coach services will be running a reduced service over the Christmas period, including Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Passengers are advised to plan their journey carefully ahead of time.

Monday 24 December (Christmas Eve) - last trains to and from Gatwick Airport

The final direct train from Brighton to Gatwick leaves Brighton at 21:03, arriving at 21:31. Alternatively, passengers can get the 21:26 Thameslink Brighton – Three Bridges service and change for the 22:04 Southern service from Three Bridges to Gatwick.

The final train from London to Gatwick will be the 21:56 Southern service from London Bridge, arriving at Gatwick at 22:26.

The final train leaving Gatwick for London will be the 22:15 service to London Bridge (arriving at London Bridge at 22:46).

Wednesday 26 December (Boxing Day)

There will be a half-hourly service to/from Gatwick and London Bridge.

London Bridge to Brighton services will call at East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges and Haywards Heath.

London Bridge to Gatwick Airport services will now be running from London Bridge to Three Bridges.

There will be a London Bridge to Sutton service via Selhurst and West Croydon

There will be a London Bridge to East Croydon service via Norwood Junction.

Sunday 23 December to Tuesday 1 January - no Southern or Gatwick Express trains to or from London Victoria

London Victoria will be closed throughout the Christmas period to allow for work that will improve reliability. Most trains will divert to and from London Bridge.

Impact to your journey:

No Southern or Gatwick Express trains will operate to or from Victoria from Sunday 23 December to Tuesday 1 January. Southeastern services at Victoria are unaffected by this work.

Most Southern trains normally operating to or from London Victoria will be diverted to start and terminate at London Bridge. This is in addition to Thameslink services operating from London Blackfriars and London Bridge.

A bus service will operate between London Victoria and Clapham Junction for local journeys.

Trains will operate between Clapham Junction and East Croydon allowing passengers to connect to other services heading south.

All services from Clapham Junction are expected to be extremely busy – passengers should avoid travelling via Clapham if possible.

Passengers travelling from London to Gatwick Airport should use alternative Southern and Thameslink services from London Blackfriars or London Bridge throughout the Christmas period.

Tuesday 25 December to Sunday 30 December - no direct trains between Gatwick Airport and Reading

Engineering work is taking place to strengthen bridges in the Guildford area, closing all lines between Ash and Redhill.

Impact to your journey:

Great Western Railway services from Reading to Gatwick Airport will terminate at Ash. All passengers requiring replacement buses should alight at North Camp.

Replacement buses will operate between North Camp and Gatwick Airport (calling at Guildford only).

Replacement buses will operate between North Camp and Redhill (calling at all stations, except Ash and Wanborough).

One replacement bus service an hour will call at Gatwick Airport via the South Terminal. Train station staff will assist passengers in utilising replacement bus services from Gatwick Airport to North Camp to access train services to Reading.